Silverware orienting means

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for receiving and orienting randomly arranged pieces of silverware, and for discharging the silverware to a storage means with all the handles of the silverware at one end. The silverware receiving and orienting structure is associated with a machine that separates forks, knives, teaspoons and soupspoons; and a movable, multicompartmented storage structure is associated with the apparatus, so that each type of silverware can be discharged in oriented fashion into a single compartment.

United States Patent Inventor Aldrich L. Jackson Eustis, Fla.

Apr. 15, 1970 Oct. 12, 1971 Dynasort Corporation Continuation-impart ofapplication Ser. No.

707,164, Feb. 21, 1968, now abandoned.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee SILVERWARE ORIENTING MEANS 36 Claims,10 Drawing Figs.

U.S.C1 209/13, 193/43 B, 198/33 AD Int.Cl B07c5/06, B65g11/2O Field ofSearch 209/73, 74,

97; 193/43,43 B;221/156, 157; 198/33 AD [56] References Cited UNlTEDSTATES PATENTS 2,309,471 1/1943 Moore 193/43 B 2,377,154 5/1945 Hurley,Jr 193/43 B 3,389,790 6/1968 Braunheim et al 209/97 3,545,613 12/1970Nystuen 198/33 AD Pn'mary ExaminerAllen N. Knowles Att0rneyHofgren,Wegner, Allen, Stellman 18L McCord ABSTRACT: Apparatus for receiving andorienting randomly arranged pieces of silverware, and for dischargingthe silverware to a storage means with all the handles of the silverwareat one end. The silverware receiving and orienting structure isassociated with a machine that separates forks, knives, teaspoons andsoupspoons; and a movable, multicompartmented storage structure isassociated with the apparatus, so that each type of silverware can bedischarged in oriented fashion into a single compartment.

PATENTEnunnzlsn 3 612 25 SHEET HP 3 SILVIEIIWAIRE ORIENTING MEANSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 707,164, filedFeb. 21, 1968 now abancloned.

BACIIGROUND OF THE INVENTION Recently machines have been developed toautomatically sort various types of silverware and deposit them inseparate compartments. Such machines are illustrated in Kraeft US. Pat.No. 3,247,858, Stutz US. Pat. No. 3,301,397, and in my US. Pat. No.3,395,795; but such machines do not provide for orienting the silverwarewith all the handles at one end so that a person may grasp one or morepieces by the handle without touching the food manipulating end portionsof other pieces. Naslund et al. US. Pat. No. 3,389,791 discloses amachine which sorts silverware and also orients all the pieces of eachtype with the handles at one end; but the sorting and orienting devicesfunction relatively slowly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The structure of the present invention obviatesthe problem noted above by providing a unique orienting structure thatinsures that the handles of the various types of silverware will all beleading as they are discharged into a storage structure. To this end, asteeply inclined receiving trough for randomly arranged silverware isshaped to position silverware for endwise movement generally centrallybetween its edges, and a delivery chute means associated with the troughhas an upper portion providing an abutment and a lower portion providinga supporting surface. The arrangement is such that a piece of silverwaretraversing the trough with its handle leading tumbles off the lower endof the trough onto the supporting surface to descend the latter handlefirst, while a piece traversing the trough with the food manipulatingend portion leading slides axially off the trough until said end portionstrikes the abutment area and then pivots downwardly about said endportion to descend the supporting surface handle first.

The orienting structure of the present invention also is particularlyadapted for use with an assorting machine, such as that disclosed andclaimed in my US. Pat. No. 3,395,795, wherein miscellaneous silverwareis assorted so that all pieces of any one type are discharged togetherfrom the assorting machine; and to this end, the present inventionincludes a multicompartmented storage means that is preferably movablesynchronously with the various discharge cycles of the assortingmachine, so that each of the different types of silverware may bedischarged into a single compartment.

When the orienting structure is to be used with a continuous silverwaresorter such as that disclosed and claimed in my copending application,Ser. No. 44,399, filed June 8, 1970, the receiving troughs of theorienter may be the troughs into which the sorter directs the severaldifferent kinds of silverware; and in that event the storage meansconsists of a separate box to receive the pieces discharged by eachdelivery chute means, so that as each box becomes full it may bereplaced by an empty box without regard for whether boxes for the othertypes of silverware are full.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary sideelevational view of a first embodiment of the orienting means of thepresent invention, shown in association with the sorting machine of US.Pat. No. 3,395,795, with certain parts being broken away for clarity ofillustration;

FIG. 2 is a view taken generally along line 22 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 3 is a view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIG. I;

FIG. 41 is a sectional view taken generally along line I-4l of FIG. 3,and illustrates in full lines a knife being oriented which has enteredthe device blade first and in broken lines a knife being oriented whichhas entered the device handle first;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, and illustrating spoons asthey are oriented by the structure of the present invention;

FIG. b is a plan view of a second embodiment of the present orienter,illustrating a single cutting ware orienter and a single eating wareorienter;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 7-7 of FIG. s;

FIG. b is a sectional view taken generally along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an upper end elevational view of the receiving troughs on anenlarged scale, taken generally along the line 99 ofFIG. b; and

FIG. It is a fragmentary lower end elevational view on an enlarged scaleof an eating ware orienter trough taken generally along the line TIL-IIIof FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings indetail, and referring 30 first to FIGS. I to 5, the orienting means ofthe first embodiment of the present invention are designated in theirentirety by reference numeral 10, and the orienting means areillustrated in conjunction with a table silver assorting machine 11,which is similar to that illustrated in my US. Pat. No. 3,395,795. Thedisclosure of said patent is hereby incorporated by reference into thedisclosure of this embodiment for details not specifically describedherein. The table silver assorting machine Ill includes a base orsupport I2, with uprights I3 and I4 extending upwardly therefrom. Acradle assembly I5 is mounted between uprights I3 and I4 for oscillatingmovement between oppositely inclined positions, and the cradle assemblyincludes a plurality of divider plates 16 that extend upwardly from aflat base 17 to form separate table silver retaining compartmentsbetween the divider plates I6. The cradle assembly 15 includes outersideplates I8 (FIG. 2) which cooperate with the outermost divider platesI6 to form compartments therebetween. The cradle assembly 15 is movablebetween a first inclined position, illustrated in FIG. I, fordischarging table silver into the left-hand orienting means designated10a, and to an oppositely inclined position for discharging table silverinto right-hand orienting means designated I011. Storage means I9 isprovided centrally of base 11 between the table silver orienting meansIlla and ItIb for receiving the oriented table silver therefrom.

The structure of the silverware orienting means It will be bestunderstood from FIGS. 3-5; and as illustrated therein,'the orientingmeans includes four side by side, generally identically shaped receivingtroughs 20 which feed into a single silverware discharger, indicatedgenerally at 21. Receiving troughs 20 are carried upon a supportstructure, including a pair of spaced upright side plates 23 that arewelded or otherwise secured to the base 12 of assorting machine II. Thedischarger 21 slides assorted and oriented pieces of table silver intothe storage means I9; and to this end, a downwardly and inwardlyinclined supporting surface 22 extends between sidewalls 23, with theopposite sides of wall 22 converging toward one another, as can be bestseenin FIGS. 2 and 3. Upper end portions 230 of walls 23 flank theinclined wall 22, and said portions 23a cooperate with surface 22 todefine a converging delivery chute having a discharge opening 24 at itslower end. As can be best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper end ofsupporting surface 22 merges into a connecting surface that includes acurved portion 220 and a flat rear portion 22b which is generallyperpendicular to the main length of the surface 22.

Each receiving trough 20 is adapted to receive assorted, yet randomlyarranged, pieces of table silver from cradle assembly 15, and thetroughs include upright sidewalls 25 having a steeply downwardlyinclined, transversely curved guide surface 25a therebetween which hasan inlet end 25b adjacent the cradle assembly IS. The distance betweenupright walls 25 is such as to allow only a single piece of silverwareat a time to slide endwise down a trough 20, and the curvature ofportion 25a corresponds essentially to the radius of a spoon bowl, so asto positively position a spoon centrally between the walls 25 of thetrough 20, and generally position knives and forks centrally betweensaid walls, As is evident from FIG. 2, the walls 16 and 18 on the cradleassembly are essentially aligned with the upright wall portions 25 ofthe troughs 20, so that the pieces of silverware being discharged fromthe cradle compartments will slide into a corresponding trough.

An inclined wall provides an abutment area 26 that extends generallytransversely with respect to walls 25 and guide surfaces 25a of thetroughs 20, and abutment area 26 is seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 to begenerally perpendicular to the rear portion 22b of the connectingsurface, and thus in a plane generally parallel to that of thesupporting surface 22. The troughs 20, the abutment areas 26, thesupporting surfaces 22 and the connecting surfaces 22a-22b are sorelated as to insure that pieces of silverware which slide down thereceiving troughs with either the food-manipulating end portion or thehandle leading will descend the supporting surface 22 with the handleleading. In this operation the abutment area, the supporting surface andthe connecting surface cooperate to provide delivery chute means.

As seen in FIGS. 3 to 5, the receiving troughs 20 have lower ends 28awhich are spaced from the abutment area 26 by a distance which isslightly greater than the length of a piece of silverware to beoriented, and the lower ends 28a are directly above the supportingsurface 22 and spaced therefrom by a distance slightly greater than thelength of a piece of silverware to be oriented.

The guide surface 25a of each receiving trough 20 has integralextensions 25c providing a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinallyextending flanges which define a central longitudinal slot 27.

. As best seen in FIG. 3, the slot 27 includes a first relatively narrowportion 28 adjacent the inlet end 25b of the trough, and the slotfurther includes a second relatively wide portion 29 adjacent theabutment area 26. The first portion 28 of the passage means is wideenough to allow the handle of a piece of silverware to passtherethrough, but is sufficiently narrow to prevent the enlarged foodmanipulating end of spoons, forks, and soupspoons (hereinafter sometimescalled eating ware) from passing therethrough, so that when suchsilverware slides down the guide surface 25a with the food-manipulatingend leading, the food-manipulating end of a piece of eating ware willmove past the first portion 28 of the slot 27. The distance between thelower end 28a of the trough 20 and the junction between the curved andflat portions 22a and 22b of the connecting surface is less than theshortest piece of silverware, i.e., a teaspoon, so that when a teaspoonis sliding down the guide surface 250 (F IG. 5) with the bowl leadingthe bowl will override the connecting surface and engage the abutmentarea 26. The distance between the lower end 28a of the trough 20 and theabutment area 26 is greater than the length of the longest piece ofsilverware, Le, a knife (FIG. 4), so that when a knife is sliding downguide surface 25a with the blade end leading, sufficient clearance isprovided to allow the knife to drop from the trough 20 into thedischarger 21. Narrow slot portion 28 is broad enough to pass a knifeblade therethrough, but when a knife is sliding down a guide surface 25awith the blade end leading, the weight of the knife handle is sufficientto retain the knife on the guide surface until the end of the bladestrikes abutment area 26.

ln operation, when a piece of eating ware which has an enlarged endportion is sliding down guide surface 25a with the handle end leading,the handle, because of its weight, drops through narrow slot portion 28,while the enlarged end portion is held on flanges 25c until the piecereaches widened slot portion 29, whereupon the piece of silvenavaredrops downwardly through the slot 27 onto supporting surface 22 of thesilverware discharger with the handle end nearest the discharge opening24. When pieces of eating ware travel down the guide surface 250 withthe enlarged food-manipulating end leading, the food-manipulating endtravels along guide surface 25a, flanges 25c and the connecting surfaceportions 22a and 22b until the food-manipulating end strikes uprightwall 26. The piece then pivots downwardly about its leading end and thehandle drops by gravity through slot portion 28 so as to lead as thepiece slides down the supporting surface 22. The present inventionpreferably includes means for assisting the silverware in its traveldown guide surface 25a, and to this end, a vibrator 30 is associatedwith the orienting means 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the vibrator30 is mounted upon the under side of supporting surface 22 centrallythereof.

Storage means 19 includes an open-ended container having a base 31 withupright side and end wall 32 and 33, respectively, extending upwardlytherefrom. An upright central partition wall 34 which is parallel to thesidewalls 32 cooperates with three transversely extending divider walls35 to create four side-by-side pairs of compartments for receivingsilverware that is deposited from the orienting means 10a and 10b.Divider walls 35 are spaced from one another, and from end walls 33, bya distance sufficient to allow a hand to reach into the compartments toremove the silverware therein. Inclined silverware supporting walls 36are preferably provided in each of the compartments of the storage means19. The base 31 of support structure 19 is slidably mounted upon thebase 12 of the assorting machines 11, and, a motor M is coupled to thesupport structure 19 by a suitable drive train indicated schematicallyby the dashed line 37 in FIG. 2, and motor M functions to move thesilverware storage means 19 so that each of the pairs of compartmentstherein is positioned to receive sorted and oriented silverware from theopposite discharge spouts of orienting means 10a and 10b. The drive tomotor M is preferably synchronized with that to the cradle assembly 15,so that each pair of compartments within the support structure 19 willreceive only one type of silverware, i.e., knives, teaspoons, forks orsoupspoons.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention illus trated in FIGS. 6to 9, there is shown orienting means, indicated generally at 110, whichincludes a first orienting unit, indicated generally at 111, for tableknives and a second orienting unit, indicated generally at 112, foreating ware including various sorts of spoons and forks. Although onlyone unit 112 is illustrated, in an actual silverware sorting andorienting installation there would be a minimum of three such units toseparately handle soupspoons, teaspoons and forks. ln addition,depending upon the number of different kinds of silverware being used bya restaurant, there might be an additional knife orienter for butterknives and additional eating ware orienting units for salad forks,cocktail forks, etc.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the assembly of a knife-orienting unit 111 andan eating ware orienting unit 112 includes base sidewalls 113 and 113a,a center partition 1 14 and a rear wall 1 15 which are supported upon abase (not shown) which may be like the base 12 of the first embodiment.Transverse tie bars 1 16 connect the sidewalls 113 and 113a, while inthe cating ware unit 112 a cross pin 116a is provided to anchor thebottom of discharge chute means, as will be more fully described.

Referring now particularly to the knife orienter 111, a knife-receivingtrough 117 includes upright sidewalls 118 and 1 19 connected by anarcuate knife-guiding surface 120 which positions a knife tranversingthe trough endwise generally midway between the sidewalls. The trough117 has an upper end 121 and a lower end 122, and the sidewall 118extends downwardly a sufficient distance to be removably connected tothe base wall 113 by a stud 123 which engages an open notch 124 in thesidewall, and by an upwardly open notch 125 which hooks beneath a stud126 on the sidewall.

In the particular structure illustrated, the knife-receiving trough 117is formed integrally with an eating ware receiving trough, indicatedgenerally at 130, and the troughs 117 and 130 are connected by a bightportion 131 which surmounts the central wall 114 when the unit isassembled. This, however, is a structural detail which might well beomitted from a commercial product, as is the stud and notch mounting forthe troughs.

Referring now particularly to lFlG. 7, the knife orienter ll llll alsoincludes delivery chute means, indicated generally at i127, which issecured between the sidewall M and the center partition lid. Thedelivery chute means includes an abutment area 128 which issubstantially axially aligned with the guide surface 112'!) of theknife-receiving trough, and it also includes a knife-supporting area 129which is substantially directly below the lower end ll22 of the troughM7 and forms a single, continuous inclined plane with the abutment area128.

FM]. 7 illustrates in solid lines a knife lfl which has traversed thereceiving trough llll7 with its blade leading, and illustrates in brokenlines a knife K2 which has traversed the trough ill? with its handleleading. In this embodiment of the invention, as in the firstembodiment, the heavier weight of the handle of the knife Kl causes itto slide axially from the trough 1117 until the tip of the blade strikesthe abutment area Milt, at which point the knife pivots downwardly aboutits blade tip so as to descend the supporting surface llZSl of thedischarge chute means handle first. Contrariwise, the heavy handle ofthe knife K2 which traverses the trough handle first overbalances theblade at the end ll22 of the trough so that knife tumbles onto thesupporting surface 129 handle first and descends the supporting surfacein that position.

Referring now particularly to the eating ware orienter M2, thesilverware-receiving trough 13b is seen to have parallel sides 1132 and1133 between which are silverware-guiding surfaces ll3d and 135 whichare-disposed substantially at right angles to one another and joined bya short arcuate portion llZlti at the base of the V which is formed bythe surfaces 134 and B5. The trough has a lower end 1137 and an upperend WW1, and a pair of integral extensions 138 and i139 of the guidesurfaces lIMl and 135, respectively, define a long, narrow slot Milwhich is seen in FIG. 6 to be broad enough that the handle of a piece ofeating ware, such as a spoon, may fall through the slot Mill while theenlarged food manipulating end portion of the spoon has its side areassupported on the flanges 13% and 139. The flanges are seen in FIG. s tohave diagonal lower margins 138a and 113%.

The receiving trough wall 133 is provided with a stud 11411 which seatsin a notch M2 in the base sidewall lllllla, while a notch M35 in theupper edge of the wall i253 hooks beneath a stud M4 in the base wall )1llSla so that both the knife-receiving trough M7 and the eating warereceiving trough we are supported upon the base walls lllll i and H301and upon the center partition llll t Comparing the V-shaped silverwareguiding surfaces Mal-i135 with the broad, arcuate surface 25a of thefirst form of the invention, it has been found that the V-shapefunctions more positively for fork orientation when a fork traverses thetrough with the tines leading. Extensive experimental use of the firstform of the invention for fork orientation has shown that fork tines maysnag in the edge of the widened portion 29 of the slot 27 and cause afork to go down the delivery chute with the tines leading. With theV-trough of the second form the base of a fork rests either upon thesurface 134! or the surface ll35, while the side of the fork rests uponthe other of the two surfaces; so there is nothing to prevent a forkfrom sliding freely axially off the end of the trough as is necessaryfor proper orientation.

Furthermore, the V-trough causes the handle of a spoon or forktraversing the trough with the handle leading to enter the slot edgewiseand swing the piece of silverware into the orientation illustrated inFIG. 8. This provides more rapid and positive entry of the handle of apiece of eating ware into the slot than is possible with the broad,shallow U-shaped guide surface Elia of the first embodiment.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the eating ware orienter is provided withdelivery chute means, indicated generally at M5, which includes anabutment area 1416, a supporting surface M7, and a connecting surfaceMil having an arcuate portion ll llla and a generally planar portion14%. Conveniently the delivery chute means MS has its upper portionsecured to the rear wall 11115 and its lower end rolled to receive thecross pin line.

The abutment area 1146 is substantially axially aligned with the bottomllllt'i of the trough guiding surfaces 134-135, while the inclinedsupporting surface M7 is substantially directly beneath the lower end137 of the trough.

in H6. 8 a spoon Si which has traversed the trough 1130 with itsenlarged bowl leading is illustrated in full lines while a spoon S2which has traversed the trough with its handle leading is illustrated inbroken lines. The bowl of spoon S11 is supported by the guide surfaceextensions i138 and 139 so that the spoon slides axially off the troughand the leading end of the spoon bowl strikes the abutment area lldti,whereupon the spoon pivots downwardly about the leading end of its bowland simultaneously slides a short distance down the abutment area Mbuntil it occupies the approximate position illustrated in MG. fl, atwhich point the weight of the handle overbalances it and the bowl leavesthe connecting surface 143 as the spoon slides handle first down thesupporting surface 147.

The spoon S2 traversing the trough handle first is initially supportedas seen in Fit}. 9, and when the amount of the handle projecting overthe slot Mil is sufficient to overbalance the bowl, the handle dropsthrough the slot Mil while the bowl is supported by its marginalportions on the flanges i358 and 139 as seen in H6. d. The spoontraverses the flanges in that position until the bowl drops off thediagonally cut ends 1380 and 113% of the flanges, whereupon the spoondrops onto the sup porting surface M7 to descend that surface handlefirst.

Since no silverware sorting machine can be depended upon to sort varioustypes of silverware with percent accuracy, it may sometimes happen thata knife enters the receiving trough 1130 for eating ware. In order thatthis may not block the orienter, the distance from the end 1137 of thetrough M0 to the abutment area Me is greater than the length of a tableknife, and the width of the slot lld'b is effectively greater than thewidth of any portion of a table knife so that a knife may go through theorienter 1112. it is apparent that a knife in the trough ran would haveits flat surface resting either on the supporting surface HEM or 1135,and would have its edge and the narrow part of its handle contacting theother supporting surface of the trough. Thus, although the slot M0 asillustrated in MG. s appears to be narrower than the handle of the knifeillustrated in Fifi. t5 the knife would drop through the slot edgewiseand would be oriented in the orienter kill! as satisfactorily as it isin the orienter illll.

it has previously been indicated that the second form of orienterillustrated in lFl GS. s to 9 might be used in conjunction with acontinuous silverware assorter of the type disclosed in my copendingapplication, Ser. No. 44,399, filed June 8, 1970. in that event thetroughs M7 and 13th, and the additional troughs identical with 1130 forother types of spoons and forks, are the integral outlet troughs of thecontinuous sorter, and the delivery chute means M27 or 1415, as the casemay be, are separately mounted in the sorter frame in alignment with thetroughs, rather than having the troughs and delivery chute means bothmounted in side frame members as illustrated in the drawings of thisapplication.

Likewise, as previously stated, where the second form of the orienter isused with the continuous sorter of my copending application it isdesirable to use separate, individual silverware storage boxes for theseveral orienters, so that a full box of knives, for example, may beremoved and replaced by an empty box without disturbing the boxes ofspoons and forks which may be only partially full at that time.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

ll claim:

ll. Apparatus for orienting sorted but randomly arranged silverwarehaving a handle and a food-manipulating end portion, said apparatuscomprising, in combination:

a steeply inclined receiving trough which has an upper end to receivesilverware and a lower end from which said silverware slides, saidtrough being shaped to position silverware for endwise movementgenerally centrally between its edges;

delivery chute means below said trough, said delivery chute means havingan upper portion providing an abutment area which is substantiallyaxially aligned with the trough and spaced from the lower end of thetrough by a distance which is slightly greater than the length of apiece of silverware to be oriented,

and said delivery chute means having an inclined supporting surfacebelow the abutment area which is generally vertically below the lowerend of the trough and spaced from said lower end by slightly more thanthe length of a piece of silverware to be oriented,

so that a piece of silverware traversing the trough with its handleleading tumbles from the end of said trough handle first onto saidsupporting surface to descend the latter handle first,

and so that a piece of silverware traversing the trough with its foodmanipulating end portion leading slides axially from the trough untilsaid end portion strikes the abutment area and then pivots downwardlyabout said end portion to descend the supporting surface handle first;

and storage means to receive silverware from the supporting surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the trough includes a pair oflongitudinal, laterally spaced supporting flanges which fonn extensionsof its lower end and define a central, longitudinal slot, said flangesbeing adapted to support a piece of silverware having an enlarged foodmanipulating end portion by the side areas of said portion, and thewidth of the slot being such as to permit the handle of such a piece ofsilverware to drop between the flanges.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the width of the slot is greaterthan that of any part of a table knife.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the flanges are of uniform widthfrom end to end.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the abutment area is inclined, andin which said area and the supporting surface form a single, continuous,uninterrupted inclined surface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the abutment area and thesupporting surface are in generally parallel planes with the plane ofthe abutment area farther from the lower end of the feed chute than isthe plane of the supporting surface, and in which a connecting surfaceconnects the abutment area to the upper end of the supporting surface.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which the connecting surface includes aplanar portion adjacent and generally perpendicular to the abutmentarea, and a convexly arcuate portion between said planar portion and theupper end of the supporting surface.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the trough is arcuate and on aradius of curvature similar to that of the bowl of a tablespoon.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the trough has two angularlyrelated, generally planar guiding surfaces, so that it is V-shaped.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 in which the guiding surfaces are at anangle of about 90 to one another.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 which includes a pair of Iongitudinal,laterally spaced supporting flanges each of which forms an extension ofthe lower end of one of the guiding surfaces, said flanges defining alongitudinal slot the center line of which is aligned with the apex ofthe V.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the abutment area is concave withrespect to the end of the feed chute and is farther from the lower endof the feed chute than is any part of the supporting surface, and inwhich a connecting surface connects the abutment area to the upper endof the supporting surface, said connecting surface including a generallyhorizontal portion adjacent the abutment area and a convexly arcuateportion between said horizontal portion and the upper end of thesupporting surface.

13. Apparatus for orienting sorted but randomly arranged silverwarehaving a handle and an enlarged food-manipulating end portion, saidapparatus comprising, in combination:

a steeply inclined receiving trough which has an upper end to receiverandomly arranged silverware and a lower end from which said silverwareslides, said receiving trough being shaped to position silverware forendwise movement generally centrally between its edges;

a pair of longitudinal, laterally spaced supporting flanges which formextensions of the lower end of the trough and define a central,longitudinal slot, said flanges being adapted to support a piece ofsilverware by the side areas of its enlarged end portion, and the widthof the slot being such as to permit the handle of a piece of silverwareto drop between the flanges;

delivery chute means below said feed chute, said delivery chute meanshaving an upper portion providing an abutment area which issubstantially axially aligned with the trough and spaced from the lowerend of the trough by more than the length of the silverware to beoriented,

and said delivery chute means having an inclined supporting surfacebelow the abutment area which is generally vertically below the lowerend of the trough,

and a connecting surface between the abutment area and the supportingsurface, said connecting surface including a generally planar area and aconvexly arcuate area connecting the planar area to the supportingsurface,

so that a piece of silverware traversing the trough with the enlargedend portion leading moves off the chute generally axially until saidenlarged end portion strikes the abutment area whereupon its handledrops through the slot and it pivots about its enlarged end portion sothat it descends the supporting surface handle first,

and so that a piece of silverware traversing the trough with its handleleading has its handle fall through the slot and slides along the slotwith its enlarged end portion supported on the flanges until it dropsoff the flanges and descends the supporting surface handle first;

and a storage container to receive silverware from the supportingsurface.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the slot is wider than any partof a table knife, and the distance from the lower end of the trough tothe abutment area and to the nearest part of the supporting surface isgreater than the length of a table knife, so that a table knife whicherroneously enters the trough may pass through the apparatus and beoriented.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the abutment area and thesupporting surface are in generally parallel planes with the plane ofthe abutment area farther from the lower end of the feed chute than isthe plane of the supporting surface, and in which a connecting surfaceconnects the abutment area to the upper end of the supporting surface.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the connecting surface includes aplanar portion adjacent and generally perpendicular to the abutmentarea, and a convexly arcuate portion between said planar portion and theupper end of the supporting surface.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the trough is arcuate and on aradius of curvature similar to that of the bowl of a tablespoon.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the trough has two angularlyrelated, generally planar guiding surfaces, so that it is V-shaped andin which each of the supporting flanges forms an extension of the lowerend of one of said surfaces.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the abutment area is concave withrespect to the end of the feed chute and is farther from the lower endof the feed chute than is any part of the supporting surface, and inwhich a connecting surface connects the abutment area to the upper endof the supporting surface, said connecting surface including a generallyhorizon tal portion adjacent the abutment area and a convexly arcuateportion between said horizontal portion and the upper end of thesupporting surface.

20. Apparatus for orienting randomly arranged table knives which have ahandle and a blade, said apparatus comprising, in combination:

a steeply inclined receiving trough which has an upper end to receivetable knives and a lower end from which said table knives slide, saidtrough being shaped to position table knives for endwise movementgenerally centrally between the trough edges;

delivery chute means below said trough, said delivery chute means havingan upper portion providing an abutment area which is substantiallyaxially aligned with the trough and spaced from the lower end of thetrough by slightly more than the length of a knife,

and said delivery chute means having an inclined supporting surfacebelow the abutment area which is generally vertically below the lowerend of the trough and spaced from said lower end by slightly more thanthe length of a knife,

so that a knife traversing the trough with its handle leading tumblesfrom the end of said trough handle first onto the supporting surface todescend said supporting surface handle first;

and so that a knife traversing the trough with its blade lead ing slidesaxially from the trough until its blade tip strikes said abutment areaand then pivots downwardly about its blade tip to descend the supportingsurface handle first;

and storage means to receive knives from the supporting surface.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 in which the abutment area is inclined,and in which said area and the supporting surface form a single,continuous, uninterrupted inclined surface.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 in which the abutment area and thesupporting surface are in generally parallel planes with the plane ofthe abutment area farther from the lower end of the feed chute than isthe plane of the supporting surface, and in which a connecting surfaceconnects the abutment area to the upper end of the supporting surface.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the connecting surface includes aplanar portion adjacent and generally perpendicular to the abutmentarea, and a convexly arcuate portion between said planar portion and theupper end of the supporting surface.

24. Silverware-orienting apparatus comprising, in combination: asupport; silverware storage means on said support; delivery chute meansincluding a supporting surface for discharging silverware into saidstorage means; an inclined silverware-receiving trough adapted toreceive pieces of silverware which have been presorted but which arerandomly arranged, said receiving trough having an inlet end and anabutment end; and silverware-orienting means associated with saidreceiving means for feeding said pieces of silverware into said deliverychute means with all their handle ends occupying a predeterminedposition relative to the storage means, said orienting means includingelongated slot means of predetermined width having a first end adjacentthe inlet end and a second end adjacent the abutment end, said slotmeans affording communication between the receiving trough and thesupporting surface, and an abutment area spaced from said abutment end,the distance from the first end of said slot means to said abutment areaand the width of said slot means being so related to the dimensions of apiece of silverware that differences between the handle end and thefood-manipulating end of a piece of silverware cause it to go throughsaid slot means into the discharging means with its handle end occupyingsaid predetermined position.

25. The combination of claim 24 in which said silverware storage meansincludes a plurality of compartments, and wherein said storage means ismovable between a plurality of positions for locating each compartmentin a position for receiving silverware from said discharging means.

26. The combination of claim 24 in which two spaced orienting means areprovided on said support, with said storage means being located on saidsupport between said orienting means for receiving silverware from eachof said orienting means.

27. The combination of claim 24 wherein said orienting means includes aplurality of receiving troughs located in sideby-side relationship withrespect to one another, with said discharging means including a singlesupporting surface receiving silverware from all of said troughs.

28. The combination of claim 24 including means on said support forsorting various types of silverware, said sorting means being adapted todischarge the sorted silverware into said orienting means.

29. The combination of claim 24 which is adapted to receive silverwareof four common types, and in which the relationship between the slotmeans and the abutment area, and the dimensions of both, causesilverware of each of said four types to enter the discharge means withthe handle ends occupying said predetermined position.

30. Silverwareorienting apparatus comprising, in combination: aninclined silverware-receiving trough having an elevated inlet endthrough which it receives presorted but randomly arranged pieces ofsilverware, and a lower end; a silverware discharger underlying thereceiving trough, said discharger having an inclined supporting surfacewith an upper end beneath the lower end of the trough and a dischargeend beneath the inlet end of the trough, a rear connecting surfaceportion substantially perpendicular to the supporting surface andsubstantially coplanar with the bottom of the trough, and an arcuateconnecting surface portion connecting the rear portion to the upper endof the supporting surface; an abutment area substantially perpendicularto said rear connecting surface portion and spaced from said arcuatesurface portion, said abutment area blocking the lower end of thetrough; and a slot in the bottom of the trough which has a narrowportion near the inlet end which can pass a silverware handle but not anenlarged food-manipulating end of silverware, and a wide portion nearthe abutment area which can pass an enlarged food-manipulating end ofsilverware, "the length of said slot to the abutment area being slightlygreater than the length of a knife and the length of said slot to thearcuate connecting surface portion'being slightly less than the lengthof a teaspoon.

31. The combination of claim 30 in which a plurality of receivingtroughs are positioned side by side, and a single discharger underliesall said troughs, said discharger having a concave supporting surfacewhich converges downwardly to a discharge end that is generally the samewidth as a receiving trough.

32. Silverware-orienting apparatus comprising: a silverware receiverhaving an inlet adapted to admit randomly arranged silverware, saidsilverware receiver including a guide surface extending downwardly fromsaid inlet toward an abutment area; slot means in said guide surfacebetween said inlet and said abutment area, said slot means includingadjacent said inlet a first portion wide enough to allow a silverwarehandle to pass therethrough but narrow enough to prevent silverwarehaving an enlarged food-manipulating end from passing therethrough, theend of the first portion of said slot means closest to said inlet beingspaced from said abutment area by a distance greater than the silverwarelength, said slot means including a second portion having a length andwidth sufficient to allow the silverware food manipulating end to passtherethrough, the end of the second portion of said slot means closestto said abutment area being spaced from the end of the first portion ofsaid slot means closest to said inlet by a distance less than thesilverware length; and a silverware discharger communicating with saidslot means, whereby silverware passing down the guide surface of saidreceiver with the handle leading will pass handle first through thefirst portion of said slot means into said discharger, and wherebysilverware passing down the guide surface of said receiver with thefood-manipulating end leading will engage said abutment area whereuponthe handle of the silverware will pass into said discharger through thefirst portion of said slot means while the food-manipulating end followsthrough the second portion of said slot means.

33. Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 wherein theguide surface of said silverware receiver is trough shaped.

34. Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 wherein saidabutment area is defined by a wall extending generally upwardly fromsaid guide surface.

35. Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 whereinmeans is provided for vibrating at least said silverware receiver.

36. Silverware-orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 in I whichthe silverware discharger includes an inclined supporting surface whichreceives silverware from the slot means, a connecting surface having aninclined rear portion which adjoins the abutment area and issubstantially perpendicular to the abutment area and to the supportingsurface, and an arcuate portion which is spaced from the abutment areaand connects said supporting surface with said rear portion, thedistance to the arcuate portion from the end of the slot means closestto the inlet being slightly less than the length of a teaspoon, and thedistance from said end of the slot means to the abutment area beingslightly greater than the length of a knife.

1. Apparatus for orienting sorted but randomly arranged silverwarehaving a handle and a food-manipulating end portion, said apparatuscomprising, in combination: a steeply inclined receiving trough whichhas an upper end to receive silverware and a lower end from which saidsilverware slides, said trough being shaped to position silverware forendwise movement generally centrally between its edges; delivery chutemeans below said trough, said delivery chute means having an upperportion providing an abutment area which is substantially axiallyaligned with the trough and spaced from the lower end of the trough by adistance which is slightly greater than the length of a piece ofsilverware to be oriented, and said delivery chute means having aninclined supporting surface below the abutment area which is generallyvertically below the lower end of the trough and spaced from said lowerend by slightly more than the length of a piece of silverware to beoriented, so that a piece of silverware traversing the trough with itshandle leading tumbles from the end of said trough handle first ontosaid supporting surface to descend the latter handle first, and so thata piece of silverware traversing the trough with its food manipulatingend portion leading slides axially from the trough until said endportion strikes the abutment area and then pivots downwardly about saidend portion to descend the supporting surface handle first; and storagemeans to receive silverware from the supporting surface.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 in which the trough includes a pair Oflongitudinal, laterally spaced supporting flanges which form extensionsof its lower end and define a central, longitudinal slot, said flangesbeing adapted to support a piece of silverware having an enlarged foodmanipulating end portion by the side areas of said portion, and thewidth of the slot being such as to permit the handle of such a piece ofsilverware to drop between the flanges.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 inwhich the width of the slot is greater than that of any part of a tableknife.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the flanges are of uniformwidth from end to end.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the abutmentarea is inclined, and in which said area and the supporting surface forma single, continuous, uninterrupted inclined surface.
 6. The apparatusof claim 1 in which the abutment area and the supporting surface are ingenerally parallel planes with the plane of the abutment area fartherfrom the lower end of the feed chute than is the plane of the supportingsurface, and in which a connecting surface connects the abutment area tothe upper end of the supporting surface.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 inwhich the connecting surface includes a planar portion adjacent andgenerally perpendicular to the abutment area, and a convexly arcuateportion between said planar portion and the upper end of the supportingsurface.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the trough is arcuate andon a radius of curvature similar to that of the bowl of a tablespoon. 9.The apparatus of claim 1 in which the trough has two angularly related,generally planar guiding surfaces, so that it is V-shaped.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9 in which the guiding surfaces are at an angle ofabout 90* to one another.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9 which includes apair of longitudinal, laterally spaced supporting flanges each of whichforms an extension of the lower end of one of the guiding surfaces, saidflanges defining a longitudinal slot the center line of which is alignedwith the apex of the V.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 in which theabutment area is concave with respect to the end of the feed chute andis farther from the lower end of the feed chute than is any part of thesupporting surface, and in which a connecting surface connects theabutment area to the upper end of the supporting surface, saidconnecting surface including a generally horizontal portion adjacent theabutment area and a convexly arcuate portion between said horizontalportion and the upper end of the supporting surface.
 13. Apparatus fororienting sorted but randomly arranged silverware having a handle and anenlarged food-manipulating end portion, said apparatus comprising, incombination: a steeply inclined receiving trough which has an upper endto receive randomly arranged silverware and a lower end from which saidsilverware slides, said receiving trough being shaped to positionsilverware for endwise movement generally centrally between its edges; apair of longitudinal, laterally spaced supporting flanges which formextensions of the lower end of the trough and define a central,longitudinal slot, said flanges being adapted to support a piece ofsilverware by the side areas of its enlarged end portion, and the widthof the slot being such as to permit the handle of a piece of silverwareto drop between the flanges; delivery chute means below said feed chute,said delivery chute means having an upper portion providing an abutmentarea which is substantially axially aligned with the trough and spacedfrom the lower end of the trough by more than the length of thesilverware to be oriented, and said delivery chute means having aninclined supporting surface below the abutment area which is generallyvertically below the lower end of the trough, and a connecting surfacebetween the abutment area and the supporting surface, said connectingsurface including a generally planar area and a convexly arcuate areaconnecting the planar area to thE supporting surface, so that a piece ofsilverware traversing the trough with the enlarged end portion leadingmoves off the chute generally axially until said enlarged end portionstrikes the abutment area whereupon its handle drops through the slotand it pivots about its enlarged end portion so that it descends thesupporting surface handle first, and so that a piece of silverwaretraversing the trough with its handle leading has its handle fallthrough the slot and slides along the slot with its enlarged end portionsupported on the flanges until it drops off the flanges and descends thesupporting surface handle first; and a storage container to receivesilverware from the supporting surface.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 inwhich the slot is wider than any part of a table knife, and the distancefrom the lower end of the trough to the abutment area and to the nearestpart of the supporting surface is greater than the length of a tableknife, so that a table knife which erroneously enters the trough maypass through the apparatus and be oriented.
 15. The apparatus of claim13 in which the abutment area and the supporting surface are ingenerally parallel planes with the plane of the abutment area fartherfrom the lower end of the feed chute than is the plane of the supportingsurface, and in which a connecting surface connects the abutment area tothe upper end of the supporting surface.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13in which the connecting surface includes a planar portion adjacent andgenerally perpendicular to the abutment area, and a convexly arcuateportion between said planar portion and the upper end of the supportingsurface.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the trough is arcuateand on a radius of curvature similar to that of the bowl of atablespoon.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the trough has twoangularly related, generally planar guiding surfaces, so that it isV-shaped and in which each of the supporting flanges forms an extensionof the lower end of one of said surfaces.
 19. The apparatus of claim 13in which the abutment area is concave with respect to the end of thefeed chute and is farther from the lower end of the feed chute than isany part of the supporting surface, and in which a connecting surfaceconnects the abutment area to the upper end of the supporting surface,said connecting surface including a generally horizontal portionadjacent the abutment area and a convexly arcuate portion between saidhorizontal portion and the upper end of the supporting surface. 20.Apparatus for orienting randomly arranged table knives which have ahandle and a blade, said apparatus comprising, in combination: a steeplyinclined receiving trough which has an upper end to receive table knivesand a lower end from which said table knives slide, said trough beingshaped to position table knives for endwise movement generally centrallybetween the trough edges; delivery chute means below said trough, saiddelivery chute means having an upper portion providing an abutment areawhich is substantially axially aligned with the trough and spaced fromthe lower end of the trough by slightly more than the length of a knife,and said delivery chute means having an inclined supporting surfacebelow the abutment area which is generally vertically below the lowerend of the trough and spaced from said lower end by slightly more thanthe length of a knife, so that a knife traversing the trough with itshandle leading tumbles from the end of said trough handle first onto thesupporting surface to descend said supporting surface handle first; andso that a knife traversing the trough with its blade leading slidesaxially from the trough until its blade tip strikes said abutment areaand then pivots downwardly about its blade tip to descend the supportingsurface handle first; and storage means to receive knives from thesupporting surface.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20 in which the abutmentaRea is inclined, and in which said area and the supporting surface forma single, continuous, uninterrupted inclined surface.
 22. The apparatusof claim 20 in which the abutment area and the supporting surface are ingenerally parallel planes with the plane of the abutment area fartherfrom the lower end of the feed chute than is the plane of the supportingsurface, and in which a connecting surface connects the abutment area tothe upper end of the supporting surface.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22in which the connecting surface includes a planar portion adjacent andgenerally perpendicular to the abutment area, and a convexly arcuateportion between said planar portion and the upper end of the supportingsurface.
 24. Silverware-orienting apparatus comprising, in combination:a support; silverware storage means on said support; delivery chutemeans including a supporting surface for discharging silverware intosaid storage means; an inclined silverware-receiving trough adapted toreceive pieces of silverware which have been presorted but which arerandomly arranged, said receiving trough having an inlet end and anabutment end; and silverware-orienting means associated with saidreceiving means for feeding said pieces of silverware into said deliverychute means with all their handle ends occupying a predeterminedposition relative to the storage means, said orienting means includingelongated slot means of predetermined width having a first end adjacentthe inlet end and a second end adjacent the abutment end, said slotmeans affording communication between the receiving trough and thesupporting surface, and an abutment area spaced from said abutment end,the distance from the first end of said slot means to said abutment areaand the width of said slot means being so related to the dimensions of apiece of silverware that differences between the handle end and thefood-manipulating end of a piece of silverware cause it to go throughsaid slot means into the discharging means with its handle end occupyingsaid predetermined position.
 25. The combination of claim 24 in whichsaid silverware storage means includes a plurality of compartments, andwherein said storage means is movable between a plurality of positionsfor locating each compartment in a position for receiving silverwarefrom said discharging means.
 26. The combination of claim 24 in whichtwo spaced orienting means are provided on said support, with saidstorage means being located on said support between said orienting meansfor receiving silverware from each of said orienting means.
 27. Thecombination of claim 24 wherein said orienting means includes aplurality of receiving troughs located in side-by-side relationship withrespect to one another, with said discharging means including a singlesupporting surface receiving silverware from all of said troughs. 28.The combination of claim 24 including means on said support for sortingvarious types of silverware, said sorting means being adapted todischarge the sorted silverware into said orienting means.
 29. Thecombination of claim 24 which is adapted to receive silverware of fourcommon types, and in which the relationship between the slot means andthe abutment area, and the dimensions of both, cause silverware of eachof said four types to enter the discharge means with the handle endsoccupying said predetermined position.
 30. Silverware-orientingapparatus comprising, in combination: an inclined silverware-receivingtrough having an elevated inlet end through which it receives presortedbut randomly arranged pieces of silverware, and a lower end; asilverware discharger underlying the receiving trough, said dischargerhaving an inclined supporting surface with an upper end beneath thelower end of the trough and a discharge end beneath the inlet end of thetrough, a rear connecting surface portion substantially perpendicular tothe supporting surface and substantially coplanar with the bottom of thetrough, and an arcuate connectinG surface portion connecting the rearportion to the upper end of the supporting surface; an abutment areasubstantially perpendicular to said rear connecting surface portion andspaced from said arcuate surface portion, said abutment area blockingthe lower end of the trough; and a slot in the bottom of the troughwhich has a narrow portion near the inlet end which can pass asilverware handle but not an enlarged food-manipulating end ofsilverware, and a wide portion near the abutment area which can pass anenlarged food-manipulating end of silverware, the length of said slot tothe abutment area being slightly greater than the length of a knife andthe length of said slot to the arcuate connecting surface portion beingslightly less than the length of a teaspoon.
 31. The combination ofclaim 30 in which a plurality of receiving troughs are positioned sideby side, and a single discharger underlies all said troughs, saiddischarger having a concave supporting surface which convergesdownwardly to a discharge end that is generally the same width as areceiving trough.
 32. Silverware-orienting apparatus comprising: asilverware receiver having an inlet adapted to admit randomly arrangedsilverware, said silverware receiver including a guide surface extendingdownwardly from said inlet toward an abutment area; slot means in saidguide surface between said inlet and said abutment area, said slot meansincluding adjacent said inlet a first portion wide enough to allow asilverware handle to pass therethrough but narrow enough to preventsilverware having an enlarged food-manipulating end from passingtherethrough, the end of the first portion of said slot means closest tosaid inlet being spaced from said abutment area by a distance greaterthan the silverware length, said slot means including a second portionhaving a length and width sufficient to allow the silverware foodmanipulating end to pass therethrough, the end of the second portion ofsaid slot means closest to said abutment area being spaced from the endof the first portion of said slot means closest to said inlet by adistance less than the silverware length; and a silverware dischargercommunicating with said slot means, whereby silverware passing down theguide surface of said receiver with the handle leading will pass handlefirst through the first portion of said slot means into said discharger,and whereby silverware passing down the guide surface of said receiverwith the food-manipulating end leading will engage said abutment areawhereupon the handle of the silverware will pass into said dischargerthrough the first portion of said slot means while the food-manipulatingend follows through the second portion of said slot means. 33.Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 wherein theguide surface of said silverware receiver is trough shaped. 34.Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 32 wherein saidabutment area is defined by a wall extending generally upwardly fromsaid guide surface.
 35. Silverware orienting apparatus as set forth inclaim 32 wherein means is provided for vibrating at least saidsilverware receiver.
 36. Silverware-orienting apparatus as set forth inclaim 32 in which the silverware discharger includes an inclinedsupporting surface which receives silverware from the slot means, aconnecting surface having an inclined rear portion which adjoins theabutment area and is substantially perpendicular to the abutment areaand to the supporting surface, and an arcuate portion which is spacedfrom the abutment area and connects said supporting surface with saidrear portion, the distance to the arcuate portion from the end of theslot means closest to the inlet being slightly less than the length of ateaspoon, and the distance from said end of the slot means to theabutment area being slightly greater than the length of a knife.